Written questions by Cleverly.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2026 to Question 117657 on Constituencies, whether his Department has assessed the potential asymmetric effect on parliamentary boundary reviews of rolling out automatic registration in different geographical areas to different timetables.

The sole aim of moving towards automated registration, as set out in the Representation of the People Bill, is to increase the completeness and accuracy of electoral registers. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will test automated registration in a range of different locations and settings, with different characteristics and challenges. We will be guided throughout by principles of fairness and open engagement.The Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, are independent of Government. The timings of Parliamentary Boundary Reviews are set by legislation, which the Government has no plans to change.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of increasing the weighting given to deprivation figures to funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement on council incentives to reduce welfare dependency.

The cuts of the 2010s were felt across local government, but it was deprived local authorities with weaker tax bases and greatest reliance on government funding that were most affected. This eroded the link between funding, deprivation and need, but this Local Government Finance Settlement will turn this pattern around.We know deprivation is a factor that drives the level of spending on children’s social care services, as well as for many non-social care services. Therefore, including data on deprivation within the Foundation Formula and Children and Young People’s Services Formula enhances the effectiveness of how we assess local authorities’ relative demand for services.As a result of our reforms, by 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived. Local authorities have the flexibility to use funding in a way that responds to local needs, and can prioritise based on their own understanding of the needs of their local communities.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2026, to Question 120060, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, why the Section 106 agreement published on the Tower Hamlets website, INQ34, Royal Mint Court Completed S106, 1 May 2025, has not been updated with the amendments to the Section 106 agreement made in the Secretary of State’s decision notice on the called-in planning application.

The Secretary of State’s conclusions in respect of the S106 Agreement are at Paragraphs 111-121 of the published decision letter, which can be found on gov.uk here.Implementation of the said Agreement, in line with the Secretary of State's decision, is a matter for the parties to it.

Communities and Local Government, what requirements there are for council meetings in England to be conducted in English.

Local democracy depends on meetings being open, transparent and accessible. Councillors and mayors, as elected representatives, are expected to communicate clearly so that local authority decisions can be understood, scrutinised and reported on by the public. The government guidance, Open and accountable local government: plain English guide, promotes the use of clear language and recommends that formal local authority meetings should not be conducted in foreign languages to facilitate public scrutiny.Qualification for local government membership is already set out in legislation. Local authorities are independent of central government and, subject to the Local Government Act 1972, are best placed to regulate their own proceedings through standing orders and to provide training for members where appropriate. The public’s ability to hold councils to account relies on decisions being taken at local level.

Communities and Local Government, further to the Written Statement of 17 March 2026, HCWS1410, on Local Government Best Value, what assessment has been made of whether Tower Hamlets council is complying with the Local Government Publicity Code.

Local authorities are required to have regard to the Recommended Code of Practice on Local Authority Publicity when making decisions about publicity. Responsibility for compliance with the Code rests with individual authorities. Where the Secretary of State considers that an authority is not complying with the Code, he has powers under section 4 of the Local Government Act 1986 to issue a direction requiring the authority to comply.Any concerns regarding compliance should in the first instance be directed to the authority concerned. If the Rt Hon Member has specific concerns about Tower Hamlets Council, he may wish to write to the Department setting out the relevant evidence.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report by the Electoral Commission on voter ID at the 2024 General Election, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of allowing vouching or attestation in polling stations on levels of (a) family voting and (b) impersonation.

The government has not made a specific assessment of the impact that allowing vouching or attestation at polling stations would have on levels of family voting or personation and has no plans to introduce such measures as alternatives to the requirement for voters to show identification.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer, of 21 November 2025, to Question 90712, on Elections: Proof of Identity, whether bank cards issued in (a) Iran, (b) Pakistan and (c) China will be accepted as identification.

The Representation of the People Bill 2026 provides that only bank cards issued by UK‑regulated or authorised issuers will be accepted as voter identification. Consequently, cards issued by foreign banks that are not regulated or authorised in the UK, will not be able to be used.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Local Outcomes Framework of 9 February 2026, what consideration was given to having metrics on the level of local government (a) taxation and (b) fees and charges.

Metrics on local taxation, fees and charges were not included in the Local outcomes Framework, as these do not relate to outcomes - which are the focus of the Framework. The Local Outcomes Framework enables outcomes-based performance measurement against key national priorities delivered locally and driven by councils as leaders of place. Metrics within the Framework were selected from publicly available data that meets clear quality standards, following engagement with local government and other interested parties.

Communities and Local Government, further to the OBR Economic and fiscal outlook, March 2026, para 3.41, what estimate has been made of the effect on the department’s forecast of average increase in Band D council tax from the uprated council tax referendum principles in (a) 2026-27, (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29.

The average increase in Band D council tax excluding local precepts for 2026-27 is 4.8%, published here.Referendum principles for 2027-28 and 2028-29 will be confirmed in the Council Tax reports for 2027-28 and 2028-29 respectively.

Communities and Local Government, whether the secondary legislation to give pensions to (a) councillors and (b) mayors will be by the negative or affirmative procedure; and what the implementation timetable is.

The secondary legislation to give councillors and mayors access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is made by the negative procedure and the coming into force date will be 11th May 2026.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2026, to Question 119298, Absent Voting: British Nationals Abroad, if the Commission will take steps to raise awareness amongst Hon Members of registered overseas electors and their status as constituents.

The House of Commons Commission is independent of government, and it is therefore not for the government to comment on or instruct, the Commission in respect of its activities.As noted by the honourable member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney in response to PQ 119298, it is for honourable members to consider how best to represent their constituents.

Communities and Local Government, how many Parliamentary constituencies in each constituent nation of the United Kingdom (a) will and (b) will not receive Pride of Place funding.

The Pride in Place programme is providing up to £5.8 billion over 10 years to support 284 places across the UK. That covers 242 constituencies in England, 24 in Scotland and 13 in Wales. The Pride in Place Impact Fund also is providing up to £150 million to a further 95 local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales, many spanning multiple constituencies. In Northern Ireland Phase 1 Pride in Place programme funding is being delivered in 2 constituencies. The Northern Ireland share of Phase 2 Pride in Place programme funding (years 25-26 to 28-29) and Pride in Place Impact Fund will be delivered as part of the Local Growth Fund across Northern Ireland.

Communities and Local Government, further to the "Changing Futures Lived Experience Support Grant: prospectus", of 26 March 2026, what his Department's definition of lived experience is.

The definition of lived experience in reference to the Changing Futures programme is direct, personal experience of multiple disadvantage which includes combinations of homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health, domestic abuse and contact with the criminal justice system.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK Statistics Authority letter, Letter from Penny Young to Cllr Simon Hogg – Council Tax increases, of 23 March 2026, what steps his Department is taking to address misleading local government publicity on changes to the social care precept on council tax.

The government does not comment on individual cases or the work of the UK statistics authority. Councils are responsible for administering council tax in line with the legislation. It is the government’s expectation that the information councils provide is clear and accurate for taxpayers.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Rycroft Review: Letter to parliamentary party representatives, of 25 March 2026, whether the cryptocurrency ban will apply to crypto donations that are off-ramped (a) by the donor or (b) by the receiving political party or regulated donee.

The Government will introduce a moratorium on the acceptance of political donations made using cryptoassets to any regulated recipient, in order to safeguard the integrity of the UK’s political finance system.This moratorium will apply to cryptoasset donations of any value, including those valued under existing donation thresholds in law of £500 (or £50 for candidates).Further details on the operation of the moratorium will be set out in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026, to Question 107022, on Local Government: Reorganisation, whether the provisions in the Local Government Publicity Code on hiring lobbyists applies to the City of London.

Yes.

Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to consult on the technical implementation on the ban of the sale of new leasehold houses.

Through our Moving to commonhold: banning leasehold for new flats consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, the government is seeking views from industry and consumers on questions relating to scope, exemptions, timings, transitional arrangements, and the wider commonhold legal framework.

Communities and Local Government, what the Government’s working estimate is of the number of pub and live music hereditaments that will claim the pub and live music relief.

All 39,000 pubs and live music venues in England will benefit from the relief unless they are already receiving 100% business rates relief. This relief is awarded at the discretion of Local Authorities, who determine eligibility using guidance published by the Government and based on existing definitions. For the purposes of these figures the following Special Category (SCat) codes are assumed to be in scope: 014, 062, 070, 199, 226, 227, and 303. Hereditament counts by SCat are published in Table RVL_4_2 here: Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation (compiled list) - GOV.UK.

With reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 25, through what mechanism she intends to promote the role of the Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education.

Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) already have a statutory role in advising local authorities on religious education and collective worship.As set out in Protecting What Matters, the government intends to promote the role of SACREs by supporting improved analysis of their annual reports to better understand the role they play in local communities, including in relation to cohesion. This will help inform future engagement with SACREs and wider sector stakeholders.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the command paper, Protecting What Matters, CP 1540, 9 March 2026, page 25, which of the recommendations of the Colin Bloom’s Independent Faith Engagement Review have been (a) adopted and (b) not adopted by his department.

The Bloom Review on Faith Engagement is one of the many evidence bases that inform the work of my department, including in relation to supporting community cohesion. This includes our commitment set out in Protecting What Matters to boost Faith and Belief literacy (informed by Colin Bloom’s recommendation to do so), in addition to our ongoing commitment to regular and consistent engagement with Faith and Belief groups. The insights of Faith and Belief groups continue to play an important role in shaping policies that promote inclusivity, understanding, and respect across our society.